The New Kid dramatization
by WolfJab
Summary: A note to the readers – the following is a dramatization of mine and my friend's childhood at Clemens Mills Public School and uses the story ideas and concepts and characters from White Wolf's The World of Darkness – SAS – The New Kid – Innocence.
1. Chapter 1

A note to the readers – the following is a dramatization of mine and my friend's childhood at Clemens Mills Public School and uses the story ideas and concepts and characters from White Wolf's The World of Darkness – SAS – The New Kid – Innocence.

In the morning the bus is a cold, tightly enclosed cage on wheels, bringing the group of 10-year old students to the inevitable school day stretching out before them. In the afternoon, it is a space of glorious freedom where they can talk when they want, and about what they want. The warm sun filters through the windows, the promise of the afternoon playtime before them. In both directions, it is ruled with an iron fist by Mr. Seals, who the students call "Grouch'O." He allows the student a lot of freedom until the moment he feels student behaviour is distracting him. Then he clamps down, shutting everyone up with promises of detention.

The bus begins rolling away from Karoline's bus stop before she has taken her seat, causing her to lurch her way towards the back. Glancing back over her shoulder, she sees Grouch'O's eyes in the rearview mirror, those steely blue orbs demanding that she find a place to sit immediately. So she does so, her breathe hanging on the air. Having finished her homework after dinner last night for once, Karoline lets her eyes look out onto the passing landscape, taking it in with the sure knowledge that she'll be in a classroom for several hours that will seem like an eternity. All of the kids on the bus glance towards Grouch'O as the bus begin to slow down. The realization dawns quickly: it's a new bus stop! The students look out of the right window, some dashing across the aisle to get a better view. The first thing she notices is the old Mayfair House, a massive, dark affair that seems more like a crouching gray frog than a home. Dwarfed by the house's shadow, she sees him: The new kid. The doors squeak open, and you hear his light footsteps on the stairs before his head appears at the far end of the aisle. He is small and frail, with thick glasses, short hair and no chin to speak of. He has obviously been dressed by his parents, wearing a collared shirt tucked into brown slacks that looks like something your parents might wear. Clutched in his hand is an old copy of The Danger Brothers, a set of stories about two brothers who solve mysteries through logic. As the bus pulls away, Karoline glances back at the Mayfair House. She can't shake the feeling that she's being watched. When the New Kid takes his seat three rows up from Karoline she breathes a sigh of relief as she knows that his hazing will soon begin and although she hates to initiate him, to maintain her reputation in the school she would have to if he sat near her. Unfortunately, he was sitting right across from Max Cooper. The New Kid stays to himself, trying to read his book and generally ignores as best he can anyone who speaks to him. This gives Max the biggest grin Karoline had ever seen. He looked just like the old cartoon pictures of the Grinch when he had the idea to steal from the Who's. "What sort of loser tucks his shirt into his pants? It's like your just begging me to give you a wedgy!". Max's cheeks puff up with every chuckle as he revels in the torment. As the bus rolls on, Max's crew had begun ridiculing The New Kid and had taken the liberty of relieving the other students of the seats surrounding him. Max, fed up with not getting to The New Kid, turns to his trump card. With a swift hand he snatches the book from The New Kid's hands and goes to throw it out the open bus window

"Stop!" The New Kid yells, sudden and shrill. The bus strikes a bump, sending Karoline bouncing out of her seat... when there is an almost deafening burst of noise. The bus lurches sickeningly sideways, and the screams of other kids mix with the screech of brakes and tires against pavement, and then the Bus slams into the far side of a ditch. There is a moment of silence as the smell of rubber hangs in the air. Kids' heads pop up from behind vinyl seats and peer wide-eyed at one another. Eventually they all fall on the same person: The New Kid. The kids are herded off of the bus, told to wait quietly while Grouch'O calls for another bus to take the children to the school. Most of the kids give Bradley a wide berth, and Grouch'O cuts off any speculation with a demand of silence.


	2. Chapter 2

When the kids get to school the bus pulls into its spot, class will be starting in only two minutes, and as soon as the doors open, the kids run off to find their friends in the line to get into class. All but Karoline that is. She walks slowly off the bus as always, waiting to be the last off. As she does, Jeffrey turns into view from his hiding spot behind the pillars before the main entrance. A sickly pale and skinny child, second shortest in the class, and Karoline's friend since grade four when he moved to the city. He glares at her, standing there in his blue jeans and hoodie that he always wore to make himself look bulky to stop adults from saying they could see his ribs and he should eat more. "Twenty-three, point twelve, point two." He says in a frustrated voice. "What are you talking about?" "that's how long you're late by. The bus gets here at seven thirty sharp and it takes you three minutes to get off it, but it,s already eight thirty three." "Really? REA;LY? I had no idea." Karoline gives a smile as she laughs and walks off to get in line, Jeffrey right on her heels.

"Well are you not going to tell me why your bus is late?" Jeffrey huffs as he falls into line behind her. "Nope" she says as they file into class.

The students quickly find their seats as the final bell rings, and Principal Hoffman greets them all over the intercom with yet another greeting from one of the many diverse cultures in the school, quickly followed by the request to stand for the national anthem and a moment of silence.

As always, Jeffrey is the only kid in the class who sings the anthem (much to the rest of the class' dislike) even though it's played over the intercom.

Ms. Lemon collects the homework and starts her lesson.

"Today class …."

"Miss, you for got it again." Jeffrey says as his hand shoots up. With a disgruntled look on her face, she makes her way back to her desk and pulls out the FM learning system and clicks it into place before turning it on. As she does, Jeffrey pulls out a headset that resembles a bulky blue Walkman.

"As I was saying, today class we have a new student." She gestures to The New Kid. "This, class, is Bradley Carter and I expect you all to get along."

"That's the kid that made the bus explode!" some kid shot out from the other end of the class room. Karoline gives a smirk as Jeffrey looks to Bradley and then to her with a look of shock.

"Told you, that you would find out." She whispers so Ms. Lemon wills not hear.

The rest of the lesson goes on as normal. Kids whisper and pass notes as Ms. Lemon's back is to them, and Jeffrey, trying to figure out what happened on the bus, intercepts several as they make their way from one clique to another. 'They don't need to know now - they'll find out at the bell.' He justifies his actions to himself. After a time, the first recess bell rings and the class quickly empties.

Karoline and Jeffrey manage to break away from the rest of the kids during recess. Their questions and opinions have been incessant this morning. Whispered words between desks, notes passed when the teacher's back was turned. A quick glance about ensures them that nobody's near.

Jeffery pulls out a handful of notes from his kangaroo pouch on his hoodie. Sifting through them, he pulls out the one written in pink ink. Pink ink - the only person in the class who writes with it was Rebecca, and then only when she was writing something to pass to Brittney. As if being in pink ink somehow made it so others could not see what was written.

"So is this new dork magic or something? Like did he really break the bus or was it just coincidence?" Jeffrey reads the note making his best Rebecca impression.

"All that I know is that he yelled 'stop' and the bus did. Other than that, what do you care about it for?" Karoline says as they make their way to their favorite spot on the playground. A set of tires, half-buried in the ground to make a bench of sorts, a quiet, secluded corner of the playground that Karoline and Jeffrey laid claim to as their hangout spot.

A figure rounds the corner of the building. They recognize his slouching posture and wire-frame glasses immediately. Bradley doesn't seem to notice them, walking past without any form of greeting. He makes his way over to a line of three car tires buried halfway in the dirt to form an arching bench and sinks onto it. He stares forward at the wall.

As Karoline and Jeffrey approach Bradley, he does not acknowledge them, his lips moving slightly as he mutters under his breath. His eyes move across the wall. Listening closely; they can make out his words: "Fifty-three, fifty-four, fifty-five," counting as if intoning a careful chant. As they come to a stop near him, he falls into silence. His head turns towards them, his eyes shifting to take each of them in.

"Hey there, I'm Jeffrey. I was the new kid before. Where you from?" Jeffrey says as he steps forward extending his hand. Bradley slinks away from the two of them, then his eyes meets Jeffrey's and he says, "It was nice to meet you, but the bell will be ringing soon and I don't want to be late for class."


End file.
